The first day includes the Breath, it includes many of the upcoming experiences, but I think, rather than being specific, day one, just is to give you a feel for the entire next few days experience. It gives you a chance to find your Rhythm. Live is so much about Rhythm, and now today, you work on breathing.
Breathing has been so important for my yoga. I still don’t have the hang of it. I find it so odd that breathing comes with a warning, that you can actually get “high” (dizzy) from breathing some of the methods that are for yoga.
Is this how you reach levels of meditation? Is the breathing all part of a system?
Of course it is.. but the warnings scared me.. so I do the gentle breathings.. I don’t do the scary ones..
The great thing about this breathing exercise is that I do something similar already. In the mornings, before I’m fully awake, before I begin my morning sleepy ritual of reiki-ing my chakras, I breathe Grandmother Universe and Mother Earth. Each breath brings them together through me. I breathe in Grandmother Universe and I breathe out (in) Mother Earth, and then I reverse. I also tend to do these through my chakra’s. My root for Mother, my crown for Grandmother.
What’s fun and challenging is doing the reverse. Mother shouldn’t always be the root and Grandmother the crown, so I switch it to keep things exciting.
The Breath of Oneness
“All the principles of heaven and earth are living inside you. Life itself is truth, and this will never change. Everything in heaven and earth breathes. Breath is the thread that ties creation together.”
— Morihei Ueshiba
“Ancient lovers believed a kiss would literally unite their Souls, because the spirit was said to be carried in one’s breath.”
— Eve Glicksman
“Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts.”
— Thich Nhat Hanh
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Exercise
Begin this practice by becoming aware of your breath, expanding it throughout your entire body. Allow your breathing to organically circulate, connecting cells and organs, blood and bones. Feel the beauty and elegance of your body’s intricate design. Through each inhale and exhale, allow yourself to be filled by the Spirit and filled with Oneness . . . then permit yourself to become empty, in Spirit and in Oneness.
The Hebrew word for breath is ruach, but it also signifies spirit and wind. It is your breath that connects you with Spirit and your Soul. It sustains your Soul. Now, with your breath, animate and give expression to your Soul, knowing that breath and Soul are from one origin. Allow yourself to be filled with the breath of Oneness, which is love, joy, peace, and unity. Exhale separation; inhale Oneness. Exhale fear and anxiety; inhale God’s loving presence and power.
Imagine that you’re breathing with every living being and organism on the planet and in the cosmos. Breathe with the trees and with the ocean. Breathe with the children in Africa. Breathe with the monks in Tibet. Breathe with the saints and mystics from the past: Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, Moses, and Muhammad. Breathe with your friends, family, and community. Breathe with those you consider “different.” Breathe with the planets and stars. Breathe with all of creation and know the truth of “I AM One. We are One.” Come alive with the breath of Oneness! Dedicate your breathing as a prayer for all sentient beings. Allow a single word or phrase to arise on your lips, and send it out to the world through the breath of Oneness. In this practice, your breathing becomes a prayer and a profound act of sacred activism.
Practice the breath of Oneness for at least five minutes at the beginning and end of your day and your Soul will settle into a heavenly peace. Return to it often throughout the day in order to practice the presence of God wherever you are and in whatever you’re doing.
Affirmations
I AM breathing Life, and Life is breathing me.
I AM forever connected to my Soul in the Spirit of Life. I AM, I AM, I AM.
